The recent CN¥318m market cap decrease is likely to have disappointed insiders invested in Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300937)

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 4 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300937), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 48% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And following last week's 11% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical.

Check out our latest analysis for Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Less than 5% of Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical. Yanfei Li is currently the largest shareholder, with 37% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.1% and 5.0% of the stock. Wenshu Tian, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of Corporate Board.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥1.3b worth of shares in the CN¥2.7b company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 37% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 10%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Sichuan Hezong Medicine Easy-to-buy Pharmaceutical has 5 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.